Saturday, December 30, 2006

Here for a while (at the hospital)

Hi folks. Quick update: Noah's off the ventilator, breathing on his own, but some minor complications from having to put tubes down his throat. He's on breathing therapy for those complications. The sedatives are wearing off, and it shows! Noah gives us 10 seconds of fighting and flailing, and 30 seconds to 2 minutes of calm. We hold him down instead of having restraints, for now, since they can hurt him a bit...but we only have so much energy. :-) He's doing well, considering he's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). So far, all tests have come back negative, so he's doing just fine. However, he's got some mucus he's coughing up, and might have some kind of infection...we'll see. Some friends from church have been helping--whether it's food from Subway or just hanging out here w/ us or praying. Even you, wherever you are, please pray, we appreciate it.
God is good, and He's always in control.
Ben, for Becky & Noah.

Please pray

Hello folks. Sorry for the delay in posting, it's been pretty busy the last few weeks after school finished for me. We'll update you on the last month, but first, there is a big prayer request we have for you and those you know, your church, any friends & family you share this with.
Tonight, I went to do some painting for a friend, while Becky was getting ready to go to work (she works night-shift at the hospital on the weekends). She was telling the baby-sitter what to do w/ Noah (1 year old come January 4th), bedtime ritual, etc., then Noah started staring off into the distance, to his right side, then his neck got stiff and he wouldn't respond to Becky's voice...Becky called me on the cel-phone, I told her to get to the hospital ASAP. She did--that was the best thing she could have done for him (drive him instead of ambulance). In the car, on the way to the E.R., Noah stopped breathing, then foamed at the mouth, as seizures started. She got him to the E.R. and then he started shaking, going into shaking/tremors, in a seizure. That was at 6:30pm tonight (Fri) when she left the house. It is now past midnight as I write, 12:23am, Saturday morning really, and Noah has stabilized...he's on medicines to sedate him while they do tests and monitor him. He's on a ventilator until at least tomorrow, but his lungs are strong, just like he is (you know this if you've ever met him!) He's strong, and God is his strength, and God is OUR strength at this time too.
We are in the hospital also, sleeping in a "makeshift waiting room". We ask you to pray that the results will come back negative, meaning that Noah will be perfectly normal, but that whatever the outcome, God will give Becky and I strength through all of this. You might remember almost exactly a year ago, January 4th, 2006, when Noah was born...we spent a week of sleepless nights in this exact hospital, just 5 floors down from here...because he stopped breathing.
So, the results so far say that Noah's fine, we're just waiting to do more tests and wait for those results.

When I was 18 months old, I also had a seizure...thankfully, I don't remember what it was like...nor will Noah I'm sure. But my, oh my, I now know what I must have put my parents through.

So, will you pray for us, and specifically for Noah? Thank you. We'll update you as we get a chance. God is still good.
Ben, for Becky and Noah.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Semester almost done!

Well, this semester is coming to a close. It hasn't been as stressful academically for me this semester. I think I've finally got into the "swing of things" with reading, papers, exams, etc. I've really come to enjoy my classes, the homework, and just the growth that comes from being in a biblically solid seminary. Both Becky and I have appreciated the friendships we've developed here so far and what God has taught us.



We're also looking forward to our trip to Brazil next year! We'll probably be heading to Brazil in mid-June, and the details of the trip are starting to come together, finally!

Would you pray that we would raise the prayer and financial support that we need for these six months we'll be spending there? Thanks sooo much! If you aren't on our newsletter list, but would like to be, let us know! Our email is bbbacheller@yahoo.com.

In Christ, Ben, for the family.





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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello all! Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to you! We are thankful for all that God has blessed us with, including you, our friends. Praise God for His goodness!
Have a great time wherever you are today! Happy Thanksgiving!
From Ben, Becky & Noah Bacheller.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Noah went to Philadelphia with mommy to visit family. He had lots of fun with Grandpa Smith and Uncle Josh. It was his first time on a see-saw. Posted by Picasa
Noah also saw Nana Smith and Great-Grandma White.  Posted by Picasa
Noah also saw Great-Grandma SmithPosted by Picasa

Monday, October 23, 2006

Newsletter Issue 1--October 2006

Dear Friends, you've probably received this as an email already, but here it is again for those who aren't on our email list.

We’d like to update you again where God has brought us this past year and where He is leading us.

The Past Year

  • Our son Noah was born on January 4th! We praise God for saving Noah’s life after he stopped breathing as a newborn. He is now a healthy and energetic nine month old. God is indeed good!
  • Ben has one year of seminary under his belt! It has been a refreshing time for both of us learning from the godly leaders at CIU. Ben also participated in a mission trip to Portugal in June with our local church (he was asked to preach at two churches—in Portuguese!)
  • Becky has been working as a nurse on the weekend nights and enjoying her time at home with Noah.
  • We have begun a missionary candidacy training program at our local church—it has been very insightful and helpful for us as we seek to serve God long-term overseas.

What’s New?

  • Noah keeps growing and is in the 95th percentile for height and weight! Every day he’s crawling faster and faster. He loves chasing our new kitten, Bela.
  • Ben is working part time as a painter and taking three courses this semester – Evangelism, Old Testament Survey, and Homiletics (preaching) .
  • Becky had knee surgery on October 4th and is enjoying a few weeks off work.

Looking to the Future…

  • We are going to Brazil, again! This time for an entire school semester (summer and fall of 2007)!
  • Ben will be teaching classes at the seminary in Anápolis (same location as 2005 trip) as well as helping at a local church plant.
  • Becky will be caring for Noah and spending her free moments at the local orphanage.

As we start preparing for this trip to Brazil with TEAM, will you pray with us? Please take a few moments right now and pray:
-That God will prepare our hearts for interaction with the seminary students and orphanage children;
- That we will be able to obtain a Visa for Noah;
-That Becky will be diligent in continuing to learn Portuguese;

Feel free to email us, call us, and/or visit our website at any time. We look forward to keeping in touch and are thankful for your thoughts and prayers.

Ben, Becky and Noah

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

I love you Nana!

My mom (Nana Smith) came to help take care of Noah over the weekend while I rested from knee surgery. They both had so much fun together. We are so thankful she could come!! Posted by Picasa

Our Family!

Noah is 9 months now and such a joy in our lives. He is at the 95% for height and weight and just keeps getting bigger, stronger and faster. We our so thankful for our son, who keeps us always smiling! Posted by Picasa

I'm giong to get you Bela!

After much discussion we have finally decided to name our kitty "Bela", which means beautiful in Portuguese. She and Noah love to chase after eachother. She is a wonderful addition to our family. Posted by Picasa

Me and Mommy

 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Getting in the habit...

This week had promised to be a busy one. In the midst of it all, I have been praying that God would open the door and give me an opportunity to share the gospel with someone today. Today my wife (Becky) had arthroscopic knee surgery at the hospital. I had shared with her and asked her to pray that there would be someone I could share the gospel with while I was in the waiting room and she was in surgery. As soon as I sat down in the very large, open waiting room, I realized I should have sat “over there”, closer to two guys chatting. I was so uncomfortable in my seat, I felt the Holy Spirit simply convicting me to get up and go over there with them to start a conversation. I felt the fear building up in my heart, in my mind. I tried to ignore, even deny the Holy Spirit’s conviction. I pulled out my Old Testament survey textbook to read for class…I didn’t catch one single word that my eyes read over. Finally, I heard the older of the two fellows open some sort of booklet and start reading it to the other guy—it was about total knee replacements. I knew that this was my opportunity to jump in. I picked up my stuff, walked over to them, and sat with them, stating that I wanted to hear about this knee replacement stuff because my wife might someday need to have one (which is true). I talked with both of them for a good 20 minutes, got their names, their professions, their background a bit, and then the older man, Steve, picked up a Bible and saw that it wasn’t a Gideon’s Bible. He realized that it was a different translation and group that had placed it in the waiting room. I asked them if they knew that specific church (listed on the Bible’s back cover) in town, which led me to also ask if they ever go to a church in town anywhere. They replied: “We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, we go to the Kingdom Hall.” I said: “Really? Do you know Ashley Martin?” They said yes, in fact, he was the younger fellow’s good friend from another Kingdom Hall! Last semester I had “interviewed” Ashley at a Kingdom Hall in Columbia for a Theology class project. I had kept in touch with Ashley a bit by email this past year. I then started asking questions about their beliefs, since I have done a bit of studying on their distorted beliefs. At an opportune moment in the conversation, I seized the chance to share John 3:16 with them and diagram it out. I wanted to explain the differences between what they believed and what the Bible taught. When I asked them where they were on the diagram (it's the classing cliff diagram, the world on one side, God on the other, we're separated because our sin), the older gentleman said that we couldn’t take just one verse from the Bible and base everything on it (which was quite funny to me, because that is exactly what the J.W.’s do, even taking verses out of context). So I said, ok, then how about Romans 6:23? Still, they would not give me a direct answer. At this time my wife was getting out of surgery and I had to be with her as she recovered. So I kindly said thanks for interacting and maybe we could get together again to talk some more.

I realize that unfortunately with Jehovah’s Witnesses, a one time opportunity like today will rarely turn them from their distorted beliefs—the Watchtower Society (Satan and his cohorts) is/are very successful at keeping a tight rope around its followers. A long-term relationship is the key with J.W.’s. With them, as with most other non-Christians is not to tackle every doubt or wrong belief but to focus on the big issue—salvation in Christ, by grace through faith. One issue at a time, but start with the BIG stuff first!

Friday, September 29, 2006

New best-friend?

So, we finally broke-down and got ourselves a kitten yesterday. We've been wanting animals (of ANY sort!) for over three years now, and we saw a roach in the house the other day and I said: "We need a cat!" So two days later, we got one. She came free to us, only 8 weeks old or so, litter-box trained already, and such a precious little thing! She follows us around the house wherever we go, and she'll beg us to pet her, then if we don't, she'll just sit patiently near us...as you can see in this picture I took two minutes ago while I type away here... She's content to be near one of us...as long as she knows she's loved. :-)
We're in the process of naming her--we think "Sheba" will be it, as in "Queen of Sheba". She's so beautiful, how could we NOT name her that? ;-)
Noah loves watching her run around--in fact, that was one of the main reasons we got her: we wanted him to grow up liking animals, not being afraid of them.
What do you think? I know my sister Joy will like Sheba--she has a fur coat similar to Tommy's, her Siamiese/Himalayan breed in Brazil.
That's all for now!
Ben, for the fam. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Noah on the canon.

Here's Noah ridin' one of the canons put in this park at the eastern tip of the city of Charleston. He really only cared about daddy's sunglasses. :-) Posted by Picasa

Anniversary Trip to Charleston!

Yeppers, we went to Charleston, SC, to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary (August 30th). It was a beautiful day at the beach and visiting the old town. Here's one of the historic houses behind us.... My question is: "What does one DO with all that house?" Posted by Picasa